Cleaning Hack for the Kitchen Sink

For those of you who read my previous post on organization, you might recall that I ended it by saying that I would begin reading Crystal Paine's book, Saying Goodbye to Survival Mode.

That was two weeks ago.

I am still on chapter one.  

Though, in my defense, there was an intro.

Even still, changes have been made and progress has been noted in the household.  I think there's something about even deciding that you are going to make a change that sparks something from deep within, because even though I have made nearly zero headway on that book and it's promise of organizational wisdom, I was able to reclaim the living room.  I have also claimed victory over the dishes, despite the nasty fight they seem put up hour after hour!

It's pretty amazing to watch how one small change within a household can really spread and affect pretty much everyone that dwells there.  Seriously, as soon as that living room was back in order, I noticed that my kids actually started to put things away after they had used them!!  The first time I watched my daughter bring her plate to the kitchen sink immediately after she had eaten, I nearly fell over, and I remember thinking, "Well, I have got to do this again!"

Let me tell you, with the living room and the kitchen and now even the kids stepping up to help, I have been inspired to forge ahead!  Amidst all this inspiration going on, I bring you an all-natural cleaning hack for the kitchen sink (because yes, I did that too!).
Who knows, maybe this could be your turning point in the house, if you've been stuck just like me!

Photo by Ross Brown via Free Images

What you'll need:

Baking Soda
Water
Toothbrush
Vinegar
Paper Towels

What you do:

-Dampen your kitchen sink lightly and sprinkle baking soda over your entire sink area (for the sides of the sink, I just swept the baking soda up with my hands as best as I could).

-Wait about 15 minutes and then go at it with a toothbrush.  I'm not sure about the science behind the magic, but I'm telling you, anything that's on your sink will come right off!  It works best when you work up a paste with the water and the baking soda, but even without it, something about that baking soda all on its own will make your sink shine!

Next time I clean my sink like this, I will provide pictures as evidence to the process, but trust me when I say that I was simultaneously intrigued and disgusted by the amount of "brown/black" that was on that toothbrush!

-Once you're done scrubbing your sink down with the toothbrush, rinse everything with water.  From here, you can either move on to the next step, or call it a day and wipe everything dry with a paper towel.  We had run out of vinegar for the next part, so this was as far as I went this time around, but the vinegar is a great disinfectant and is highly recommended.

-For the vinegar, cover your sink with paper towels and lightly pour vinegar over them until the paper towels have become saturated.  Another way to do this would be to pour some vinegar in a bowl and dip the paper towels in one at a time.  I try to find the fastest way to do things, so, for me, I skipped the bowl and placed the paper towels right in the sink.

-Leave the vinegar for 20 minutes then wipe up with a paper towel, rinse your sink with another round of water and wipe dry.

-Enjoy your new sparkle and shine!  Cheesy of me to say, I know, but that is exactly what I did!  My house still has a long way to go, but that day...I'm just going to say it...that day I was proud!  I'm also pretty sure I gathered my kids around to admire, but with there being so much more to go in my organizational quest, how could I not soak in a little of this victory!

Got any cleaning hacks for me?  I'm trying my best to stay on this home improvement streak right now, so please send me some ideas while I'm on a role!